Exonerated inmate Clark McMillan unsatisfied with pay

Medical expenses, debt fuel plea for lump sum payment from state

"The stress we're living under is like persecution," says Clark McMillan, who was released from prison in 2002 when DNA proved his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery conviction.

Clark McMillan served more than 22 years in prison for a rape that DNA says he did not commit. The state awarded him $832,950, but most of it is tied up in an annuity.

A year after he was released from prison in 2002 when DNA proved his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery conviction, Clark Jerome McMillan said he was not bitter.

"I can't be bitter because bitterness is self-defeating," McMillan said in 2003.

He's bitter now.

"The stress we're living under is like persecution," McMillan said.

The stress comes from money woes, problems he says would be over if the state would arrange to release the remainder of the more than $832,000 he was awarded in 2004 as compensation for his imprisonment.

McMillan got $250,000 in a lump sum. The rest is in an annuity.

"I get $3,400 a month, supposedly for rest of my life," he said.

He wants it now.

And state Rep. Jim Coley has arranged for McMillan to go before the Tennessee House of Representatives' judiciary committee on Sept. 22 and plead his case.

"Since I wasn't there when all of this transpired and the initial decision had been made by legislation to give him this money in light of him being wrongfully convicted and held in prison, I did not have the full range of data," Coley said. "And I personally don't feel comfortable making the decision myself."

In 2004, Secretary of State Riley Darnell said the state Board of Claims decided on the annuity out of fear that unscrupulous people would prey on McMillan.

At the time, McMillan says, he didn't like the annuity arrangement, but didn't feel he had any other choice.

"After 22 years, I wasn't ready to deal with all this and they were all rushing me," he said. "Now here I am begging and pleading for money that was awarded to me."

His money problems include $50,000 borrowed against the home he shares in Raleigh with his wife, Bettie McMillan.

She has diabetes and medical expenses, but lost her health insurance when she lost her job, he said. McMillan also paid his mother's expenses before and after her death.

And he bought cars for himself and his wife. Both vehicles have been repossessed but he says he still owes money on them.

He resents being pressed for more details about his spending.

"I'm not out here robbing and killing. I'm not selling dope. Why do I have to justify why I need my money?" he said.

Despite his problems, in the world of exonerated prisoners, McMillan is among the lucky ones.

"About half of the people never see a penny for the time they lost," said Eric Ferrero, director of communications with the New York-based Innocence Project. "It's a huge problem and it's a huge debt that society owes to these individuals."

Some states cap compensations, said Innocence Project social worker Karen Wolff.

It's a maximum of $20,000 in New Hampshire and $1 million in Tennessee. Meanwhile, Texas pays $80,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration and an additional $25,000 for each year spent on parole or as a registered sex offender.

Since 1992, 241 people have been exonerated with from the help the Innocence Project, including McMillan. But not enough have been compensated to establish a pattern on how they handle their money, Wolff said.

She can't discuss McMillan's situation.

"The phenomenon of not dealing well with finances and wanting the freedom to make their own decisions is common," Wolff said. "There may or may not have been help offered at the time. I don't know. I wasn't there and I couldn't talk about it if I was."

McMillan says all he wants is to manage his money and his life himself.

"I don't trust my money in nobody's hands but mine," he said.

-- Linda A. Moore: 529-2702

McMillan's Saga

1979: A 16-year-old girl is raped at knife-point in the Overton Park golf course. The victim and her boyfriend pick Clark Jerome McMillan from a lineup as their attacker.

1980: McMillan is convicted of rape and robbery and sentenced to 119 years in prison.

1995: A supporter encourages McMillan to contact the Innocence Project in New York City.

1997: The Innocence Project accepts the case.

2002: After DNA testing done in April on the victim's stained blue jeans and other evidence excludes McMillan as the rapist, he is released in May.

2003: McMillan, living again in North Memphis, tells a newspaper reporter he is now "a recluse."

2004: Legislation is proposed in May to compensate McMillan for his incarceration. In October he is awarded $832,950, receiving $250,00 in a lump sum and the remainder in an annuity.

2009: McMillan will appear before the house judiciary committee to ask that the remainder of his money be released.